Heaven-Defying Rebel Sage
Chapter 201 - 194: The Seventh Reincarnation of Tsangyang Gyatso

Chapter 201: Chapter 194: The Seventh Reincarnation of Tsangyang Gyatso

Wukong had an intense battle with Tsangyang Gyatso, and just as Tsangyang Gyatso tried to escape at the last moment, he was ambushed by the Heaven-Defying Taoist. A Great Mountains and Rivers Seal came crashing down, smashing him to the point where his bones fractured, his tendons snapped, and he spat blood. His Primordial Spirit was dazed, and the Three Flowers and Five Qi in disarray.

Wukong quickly caught up and aimed a mighty strike with his staff to finish him off!

Little did he know that the magic weapon that could slay immortals and destroy gods suddenly appeared in front and enveloped Tsangyang Gyatso, whisking him away.

Wukong’s staff struck nothing but air, shattering the void with a web of dense and intricate cracks. The magical weapon, having wrapped Tsangyang Gyatso, disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye. Even the Heaven-Defying Taoist failed to stop it, which showed that the Great Sun Tathagata had a backup plan. He had placed a prohibition inside the treasure, ensuring that if Tsangyang Gyatso faced danger, it would carry him away.

"Dammit!" Wukong couldn’t help but curse out loud. He was about to kill Tsangyang Gyatso with his staff when the magical weapon carried him off unexpectedly.

The Great Sun Tathagata originally thought that with Tsangyang Gyatso wielding the magical weapon, Wukong would surely be captured. But he didn’t expect Wukong to possess an expanding meditation cushion. Truly, man’s calculations are no match for the will of heaven. Now Xuan Ming’s mana had greatly increased. The Great Sun Tathagata felt deep regret, wishing he could turn back time and give Tsangyang Gyatso a few more magical treasures.

"Buddha Ancestor, your disciple is of no use, and has disappointed you," Tsangyang Gyatso said, pale-faced.

"It’s all right, it’s all right! This Sun Wukong’s fate is not to be cut short, and Xuan Ming also has his destiny," the Great Sun Tathagata sighed deeply.

Tsangyang Gyatso nodded and said, "Thank you for your grace of not blaming me, Buddha Ancestor."

With these words, he retreated. As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he took out his Buddha Beads and muttered, "I have been severely injured in this life; it seems I must reincarnate ahead of time."

After saying this, black smoke began to billow from his body, strand by strand, all entering into the Buddha Beads.

Suddenly, a mage emerged from the black smoke with his hands clasped in prayer. "I am Gesang Gyatso, the seventh incarnation."

On this side, Wukong critically wounded Tsangyang Gyatso, forcing him to use his reincarnation powers prematurely and turn into Gesang Gyatso, already his seventh incarnation.

Wukong entered the Reincarnation Netherworld, and it so happened that Xuan Ming had also completed refining Reincarnation, as his Primordial Spirit flew out of the Reincarnation Pool.

Refining Reincarnation was not a task that could be completed overnight, but in the Reincarnation cycle one lifetime passed within, while only one day passed outside. Thus, it naturally shortened the time. As Xuan Ming emerged from the Reincarnation Pool, he saw the pool gradually drying up until only an empty pit remained.

Seeing Xuan Ming emerge, all the Ancestral Witches breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Xuan Ming offered a slight smile and said, "I have caused everyone worry."

Wukong had already approached, taking out Xuan Ming’s physical body from the Mustard Seed, and said, "Hurry and take possession of your body."

Xuan Ming nodded, and his Primordial Spirit entered the body, sitting cross-legged on the spiritual platform in the Niwan Palace. The body was surrounded by an aura of blue light and slowly levitated. Eventually, he opened his eyes and stood on the ground.

"This is unexpectedly a blessing in disguise. Had I refined the Primordial Dao Fruit as usual, it would have taken hundreds of years. But now, with a new birth and the incorporation of Reincarnation into my body, I have achieved it in one go, reaching the perfection of the Heavenly Dao Saint Realm," Xuan Ming said lightly, raising his palm.

Di Jiang said, "Now that the lady is unharmed, that is best. We have matters to attend to and must depart first."

The other Ancestral Witches, being tactful people, naturally withdrew.

Gonggong, this scoundrel, still complained a couple of times, but a silver bangle struck him on the head and sent him staggering.

After everyone had left, Xuan Ming said, "You’ve worked hard."

Wukong shook his head and replied, "These things are not difficult."

Xuan Ming smiled and said, "It seems you are ready to launch a full-scale assault on the Western Heaven?"

There was a flash of cold light in Wukong’s eyes as he said, "It is indeed time! Now that I have achieved great perfection as a Primordial Golden Immortal, and with Yuan Hong and Wu Zhiqi, two other Primordial Golden Immortals, stationed in Water Curtain Cave, plus the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha and his mount Diting, we have an extremely powerful force. But, I wonder if the Ancestral Witches are willing to help?"

Upon hearing this, Xuan Ming gave a gentle smile, "They will surely help."

Wukong asked, "Why? They seem to have no grudge against the Buddhist Sect, only the deepest enmity with the Heavenly Emperor, and I am still the Heavenly Emperor’s successor."

Xuan Ming’s face slightly flushed as he said, "Because they are all extremely protective of their own people."

Protective of their own people? Was that implying to Wukong that he was considered one of them?

Upon hearing this, Wukong couldn’t help but burst into laughter and said, "So you mean to say I am their brother-in-law."

Xuan Ming did not respond to his jest, but instead said, "Just be at ease, although most of them have not yet restored their Primordial Golden Immortal cultivation levels, with their Immortal Bodies and years of tacit understanding, they are more than sufficient to battle the Buddhist Sect. When the time comes and I speak to them, they will surely not stand by idly."

Wukong nodded and said, "Then that’s even better. The Buddhist Sect has deep roots, and there are quite a few Primordial Golden Immortals. If we were to engage in a head-on confrontation with Water Curtain Cave, I’m afraid it would result in a situation where we might kill a thousand enemies but lose eight hundred of our own. But with the aid of the eleven Ancestral Witches, this battle holds much more assurance."

"And don’t forget about Little Green when you infiltrate Western Heaven, she still remains suppressed by Tathagata," Xuan Ming said.

"I certainly won’t forget! Little Green has suffered suppression for my sake, and this debt, Tathagata must repay with his blood! Those who are kind to me, I will remember; those who are not, I will also remember. I am someone who holds grudges, not some feeble scholar preaching the nonsense that a statesman’s belly can tolerate a boat! Not seeking revenge goes against the nature of my heart," Wukong replied, a deep hatred flashing in his eyes. Upon hearing the name Tathagata, he couldn’t help but clench his teeth in anger.

At this point, the situation had gradually become clear.

The decade-long war between Tianzhu Country and Great Tang was about to draw to a close, with Great Tang narrowly coming out on top. All that was left was Tianzhu Country’s capital, White Elephant City, which, though it had gathered three hundred thousand defeated troops, was simply unable to hold out much longer and would soon be breached by Great Tang.

During the ten-year war, Buddha had interfered, so how could the Taoist Sect show weakness? The Three Pure Ones would no longer remain passive, seizing this grand opportunity. Supreme Holy Mother, Guang Chengzi, Jade Tripod True Person, Yellow Dragon True Person, Spiritual Treasure Grand Mage, and other prominent second-generation Taoist disciples who had distinguished themselves during the Gods’ War all took action.

But the Buddhist Sect was very clear that it should not waste any more combat power this time and should focus on recuperation in preparation for the Demon Tribe’s grand counterattack! The situation with the Demon Tribe was a fight to the death, and with the Taoist Sect not willing to engage in a mutually destructive fight, the primary enemy was not the Taoist Sect, but Water Curtain Cave, which commanded the Demon Tribe!

The Buddhas refrained from meddling in the war between Tianzhu and Great Tang any further, and Tianzhu was utterly defeated. Xue Rengui was valiant and peerless in his military strategy, even more formidable than Li Ji from the past. His renown made the people of Tianzhu Country tremble at the mere mention of his name, and it was even enough to stop babies from crying at night.

"Xue Rengui has arrived!" Just hearing this sentence would cause the defending soldiers to lose most of their spirit.

Many city masters, upon seeing Xue Rengui’s fierce momentum, simply opened their gates to surrender and pledged allegiance to Great Tang.

Xuan Ming said, "Your disciple has proven to be quite formidable in commanding troops, with the air of the military saint Sun Wu."

Wukong was taken aback, then suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "I was wondering why I couldn’t find Sun Wu’s military texts no matter how hard I searched; so it turns out you secretly took them for him?"

Xuan Ming nodded slightly and said, "Exactly."

Wukong, still in shock, didn’t quite know how much Xuan Ming had secretly done for him, and could only sigh.

In the past, Xuan Ming had sought out the personal notes written by Sun Wu, titled "The Art of War by Sun Tzu." She secretly passed Sun Wu’s "The Art of War by Sun Tzu" to Xue Rengui. Fascinated by the military book, Xue Rengui immersed himself in studying it. With his exceptional talent, he fully grasped the tactics and his skills in leading troops surged, capturing several strategic cities and passes in Tianzhu one after another.

"You should head back to Water Curtain Cave now; my business here is done. Plan well, and when the time comes to act, I will have Di Jiang and the others come to assist," Xuan Ming told Wukong.

Wukong, however, suddenly said, "Let’s leave tomorrow. Today, I’ll keep you company."

Xuan Ming repeatedly waved her hands, saying, "Go, go, I’ve just regained my physical body and need to properly adjust to it."

When a woman tells a man to go quickly, it usually means she doesn’t want him to leave. Wukong might not have understood this before, but after experiencing 3,652 cycles of reincarnation, each one filled with emotional turmoil, he had become much clearer about matters of the heart. He clasped Xuan Ming’s wrist and said softly, "I’ll leave tomorrow. A day’s delay won’t make much difference."

Feigning displeasure, Xuan Ming said, "Fine, have it your way."

The next day.

Wukong set off for Water Curtain Cave, to begin planning the great undertaking of counterattacking the Western Land.

As to whether fortune or doom awaits, please tune in next time for the answer. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets as your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)